Get Involved Anyway, Even if You Think It Won’t Help
August 11th, 2005 by Steve Pavlina
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Many years ago I was listening to one of Brian Tracy’s audio programs where he recommended getting involved with some kind of trade organization, so you could surround yourself with potential mentors. He went on to tell his story of getting involved with his local Chamber of Commerce and how massively it catapulted him forward in business.
And upon hearing such advice, I prompty ignored it.
For years.
Then eventually I hit a point where I asked myself, “What if some of those people making those personal development tapes are right, but I just can’t see the truth of what they’re saying? What if I just blindly applied some of their ideas, even if I can’t see it making much difference? Maybe those ideas really do work, but it’s one of those things where you can’t understand it from the outside looking in….”
I figured… hey, Brian Tracy is a millionaire. I’m not. Maybe he knows something I don’t. He gave a lot of credit to the idea of getting involved, so maybe I should try putting my doubts on hold and taking his advice. Maybe I’m right and it won’t work. But what if he’s right and it does work? Worst case I waste a lot of time and maybe make a fool of myself. Best case looks pretty darn good though.
So in mid-1999, I took a leap of faith and decided to apply this piece of advice and get involved in some kind of organization. I thought a good place to start would be with the Association of Shareware Professionals. The ASP is a nonprofit trade organization of around 1500 independent software developers, so it directly related to my software business. I’d been an ASP member since 1996, but all I did with my membership was receive the monthly newsletter. I was a completely passive member. I didn’t expect that getting more involved was actually going to do anything for me, but I decided to dive right in and give it a go anyway.
Brian Tracy’s advice was to focus on giving, giving, giving. He said to volunteer for committees and officer positions and do your work in an excellent fashion. He said you’d find the very best people in the organization in top leadership roles, and by working with them, you’d have access to them and the ability to learn a great deal from them. Plus he also addressed the benefits of networking, but that didn’t seem like a big deal to me because I didn’t expect to sell more games to fellow software developers.
At the time I was making only $300/month from shareware with four products… not terribly impressive considering there were people in the ASP bringing in six figures a year with one product. I couldn’t compete with that, but I did have the ability to volunteer and give something of value.
I dove into the members-only ASP newsgroups, introduced myself, and began participating regularly in discussions. I remained on the lookout for ways to become more involved. As it turned out, there was an upcoming mid-term board member election for a newly vacant board seat (synchronicity?), so I decided to run for that open seat on the board. That was a bit pretentious of me because no one really knew who I was — I’d just popped in from out of nowhere. So it was three well-known ASP members and some stranger running for that board seat. But I think I did a good job of communicating my desire and enthusiasm to contribute, since I ended up coming in second out of four candidates, losing by only four votes. At the time I figured, well, I have a fair chance of getting elected to the board at the end-of-year elections once people get a chance to know me.
I guess my enthusiasm impressed the board though, since shortly after that first election, they contacted me and asked me if I wanted to be Vice President, since the current VP was resigning. I accepted eagerly. The VP and other officers were appointed by the board, so I didn’t have to run for any kind of election to get the job.
If I recall correctly, the total amount of time between making the decision to get involved in the ASP and becoming Vice President was on the order of 30 days or so. Isn’t it amazing how a clear, committed goal often can sometimes carve out its own path to realization? I just wanted to get involved, and suddenly I was VP. My head was spinning at how the universe seemed to conspire to make it happen. But I resolved to do my best, and I worked very hard while VP, trying to do a lot more than the duties of that position called for.
After serving a year as VP, I was appointed by the board to be the next ASP President, which technically also made me the CEO of the ASP nonprofit corporation. I’m pretty sure I was the youngest President the ASP ever had (I was 29 at the time), but I can’t be certain because I haven’t met all the past Presidents. This was by no means an easy job, and knowing what I know today, I would have done things differently. But it’s nice to look back and see that some things I did back then are still around today. For example, the main body of text I wrote for the ASP home page is still substantially there.
Because of the time commitment to serve as a volunteer (none of these positions were paid), I actually ended up spending less time on my own business. And yet, about six months after becoming VP, my shareware sales had increased by a factor of 10, and things only got better from there. It’s unfathomable just how radically I changed my entire business from top to bottom based on the ideas and attitudes I picked up from ASP members. Looking back, I really had very little chance of succeeding without the ASP.
Donating significant time and energy to the ASP actually made me feel more deserving of success. Whenever I figured out something that I felt could benefit others, I’d communicate it through articles or newsgroup postings. I never felt like anyone’s competitor. I think subconsciously then, I felt that if I made my own business more successful, it would benefit a lot more people beyond just me and my family. I found this very motivating, and that kind of attitude has been with me ever since.
Brian Tracy was right. Now I wish I’d taken his advice the first time I heard it. I’ve certainly become more open to taking advice from people who appear to be getting much better results than me in some area, even when I initially think the advice sounds stupid. Maybe they know something I don’t….
I’ve frequently seen in my life that when I focus on getting, I find myself surrounded by scarcity. But when I focus on giving, somehow there always seems to be abundance. That’s one reason that when I started this personal development site, I didn’t worry about making money from it. I put all my up-front energy into trying to provide something of value — for free. I also joined Toastmasters, and just like in the ASP, I became a club officer about a month after joining. As stupid a business model as this may sound to some people (working for months to create content and then give it all away for free), it’s mysteriously working, just as it did in the past. So many resources have fallen into my lap from out of nowhere over the past several months that I’d have to be a complete idiot not to be able to turn this operation into a financial success. In strange ways I’m already being paid for the work I’m doing, but mostly not with cash just yet.
At the Shareware Industry Conference last month, I was inducted into the ASP Hall of Fame, which includes a free lifetime membership to the organization (it’s normally $100/year). I was honored to receive this award, especially since the ASP has done so much for me over the years. Even though I’m running a different kind of business today, I’m still applying the knowledge I learned as an ASP member. In one sense I’m applying the try-before-you-buy model to information instead of software.
If you want to advance in your career or business, get involved with an appropriate trade organization, and volunteer until it hurts. And if you think it won’t make a difference, just do it anyway. Maybe I know something you don’t… 
August 11th, 2005 at 8:03 am
I can understand making a trade organization your first volunteer priority for professional development, but personally I get more satisfaction out of my volunteer work with other organizations, which leaves me without enough time or energy to volunteer with my trade organization. Is it detrimental to my career to put my personal needs first?
August 11th, 2005 at 1:18 pm
I am a member of the ASP.
What I don’t like about the ASP is the fact that many members don’t take shareware seriously.
For them writing shareware and getting 200-300 $ per month out of shareware is just a hobby, and so is participating in the ASP newsgroups. So there is a lot of chatter without a lot of substance. The ASP newsgroup is their social club - they work a little on products but they chit-chat a lot.
For me shareware is the way I earn over 90% of my income. It’s my bread and butter. I work very hard on developing programs (together with my team) and engage in cut-throat competition with other companies. I treat shareware very seriously.
This is why I started to dislike ASP, in spite of the fact that I have been a member for 3 years.
I found that http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/?biz is a much better forum for software business than ASP is.
August 11th, 2005 at 1:55 pm
Very interesting story. Don’t know if one could draw an exact comparison, but this is almost like the “action beats depression” thing. On another note, I seem to recall Tracey saying long ago (went through self-help phase) that happiness wasn’t a goal in itself, but rather, it was the by-product of a good life. To this day I think that’s mostly true.
August 11th, 2005 at 3:06 pm
Thanks for another great post, Steve. At first glance, joining such an organization would never appeal to me. However, your story convinces me I should really give it a try and be more active in the process. Thanks!
August 12th, 2005 at 12:05 am
Steve,
” I’ve frequently seen in my life that when I focus on getting, I find myself surrounded by scarcity. But when I focus on giving, somehow there always seems to be abundance. ”
This is perfectly true in my case…..
“I didn’t worry about making money from it. I put all my up-front energy into trying to provide something of value — for free”
I sincerely thank you for this initiative. I am a regular visitor of this website and I make sure that I read your BLOG daily… I saw the article “How to give up coffee?”…. For past 25 days, I am not drinking coffee….. Thanks for the tips you gave…..
“If you want to advance in your career or business, get involved with an appropriate trade organization, and volunteer until it hurts. And if you think it won’t make a difference, just do it anyway. Maybe I know something you don’t…”
Although I am not involved in any organization, I volunteer for taking few training sessions which gives me lot of satisfaction…. I will take your advise and I will try to join one such organization…..Thanks steve….
August 12th, 2005 at 5:52 am
As a translator, I have long debated joining ATA (American Translators Association) or ALTA (American Literary Translators Association), but I have put it off out of fear that I would not be accepted as part of the group. I suppose it’s because I have no formal training in translation–I have attended seminars and workshops, but I don’t have a degree in translation, and mostly everything I know I learned from doing and studying on my own.
Reading this article, though, has given me a lot of food for thought. I am going to seriously look into joining one of these organizations.
August 12th, 2005 at 6:44 am
I take two different things from this article, and the while the second point of view isn’t what Steve intended I think, I still think it’s worth communicating. The first is that, essentially, the advice of other people may in fact be worth taking even if you think it’s silly. Everyone’s getting that one. That’s a good lesson.
As for the second, a story:
I play ultimate disc (also called ultimate frisbee or frisbee football). It’s a bit like basketball in all the running and sprinting fast-paced play, but the field is closer to fotball sized. If you drop/don’t catch the disc, it’s a turnover, and if you manage to knock the disc out of the air while you don’t have posession, it’s a turnover and your team gets the disc.
Now, it’s a very fast game, and throws are often (just) out or reach, either above or just past you, a good healthy dive away. There’s generally lots of opportunities to make a diving block or catch, but for many of those opportunities you’re telling yourself, “Oh, he’s got that.” Or, “I can’t get that.” Or, “That’s probably out anyway.”
You know what I’ve found out, though? *Sometimes I’m wrong*! In fact, it’s really not considerably rare to make an obligitory, yet committed attempt for a catch or block *and succeed*! The feeling of making that block or catch that you totally thought was out of reach is almost indescribable, and easily more than makes up for all the missed attempts.
August 12th, 2005 at 7:48 am
Your comments about Toastmasters and ASP have been illuminating. I’d like to get involved with a trade organization for my preferred career (creative nonfiction and fiction writing), but I don’t even know where to start. In any widely attractive career, there are going to be tons of little organizations with people who aren’t serious or professional, as one commenter mentioned here. I’m sure that the way you bypassed that was by going straight to the top, where the more serious members were. Yet, all that aside — how do you rate the organizations that you find? How do you identify the one that will most benefit you? And how do you find these organizations at all?
August 12th, 2005 at 8:01 am
Steve –
After reading this Web site, I did two things: I looked up “synchronicity,” and then I Googled writing trade organizations. And I think I found one: http://www.calwriters.org/
They even have prose open mic nights, which is something I’ve been wanting to find ever since I moved to the Bay Area last year.
So, uh, thanks.
August 12th, 2005 at 9:17 am
Angela: regarding your question “Is it detrimental to my career to put my personal needs first?”
NO
Smoking is detrimental to one’s health. Putting your personal needs first is not detrimental to one’s career. It may be that by choosing to spend time with volunteer work rather than trade organizations will leave you at a lower rung on the ladder of success. It not a negative thing, it just won’t add as much positive value to your career success (perhaps).
Also, it depends on your values and goals. I know a VP in a major corporation. He sit on Boards and is member of this and that trade org. His life is 24×7 career. He’ll reach CEO someday. No spiritual life though. Yeah, he believes in God and attends church occassionally, but more out of an need to be seen really. No social life, outside of coporate shin-digs and enteraining clients at a ballgame.
I believe in a more balanced lifestyle. I have a good job and a great family. I am leader a scouting group and have an active spiritual life. That life fits my goals and the VP’s fits his. Both of us are successful in our endeavors and both have a good life. But he has the better ‘career’.
August 12th, 2005 at 11:28 am
Pretty good story - I have to admit I’m only just learning the incredible importance of networking, but once you start, like yourself, you wonder why oyu didn’t do it sooner.
Yes, it costs time and money - but all opportunity surely requires some degree of investment to turn potential opportunity into actual realisation.
August 12th, 2005 at 1:00 pm
I recently found out that volunteering can really energize you. I do mainframe programming for a living but have been getting bored with it. I have done some website development on the side, but have not done much with it lately. Well, about a month ago, a peace group in my area advertised that they needed a web designer to create a website for them. I volunteered, and it has made a huge difference.
First of all, I have met a lot of new friends through the group.
Secondly, I have become re-energized after doing their website and seeing how appreciative they were. I decided to create a blog about a hobby of mine (dogs).
Now I am suddenly very busy in my free time, with the peace website and the dog blog, and going to peace activities. But I am happier than I have been in a long time.
So, definitely, I think volunteering can change your life.
August 13th, 2005 at 4:52 pm
@Rich — I also play Ultimate Frisbee
It is a very cool all-around sports. It was also fresh-air when I discovered it. And I must admit that everything you say is true. You have to try. In frisbee was is true is that sometime you think it is out of reach, you fear that you have no chance or fear to dive or to dare. etc. Just do it (c).
I once wrote something (and probably a gazillion of people wrote it) that is not spectacular but that resume it:
You try nothing, you get nothing.
Therefore just try. If you try, you already have a greater chance to succeed.
August 14th, 2005 at 7:04 pm
I found the article interesting. It wasn’t what I expected at first, but it came around eventually.
This helped me to see that even though you may not have that great an interest in the group that you are affiliated with, but if you make it interesting for yourself, end result is going to be positive. Organisations like these can help you to grow and mature in a way that can be used in other situations as they arise.
This spurred me to reacquaint myself with a group that I started to show interest in.
Thanks.